Dark Chocolate Cake with Pomegranate Glaze @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: I wanted to make a cake for a celebration that looked fancy but wasn’t too demanding. I found a recipe for a chocolate cake on Hidden in Paris author Corine Gantz’s website that I wanted to try. Then I spotted a pomegranate glaze on the King Arthur Flour website that I thought would be beautiful and amazing. They used this glaze on a pistachio cake, but why not chocolate?  Bonus, if any of your guests need to eat gluten-free, this cake fits that bill!

Ingredients for the cake

1 cup dark chocolate chips 

1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature 

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

1⁄4 tsp salt 

1⁄2 cup granulated sugar

1⁄2 cup brown sugar

1 cup ground raw almonds

1⁄2 cup potato starch 

Ingredients for the glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

About 5 tsp pomegranate juice

Seeds of 1 pomegranate for decoration

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips together with the butter. Mine took about 60 seconds, so watch you don't overheat. Set the bowl aside to cool and stir until smooth.

In a second bowl, beat the eggs with the two kinds of sugar. Beat in the salt and vanilla. Add the ground raw almonds and the potato starch and mix all this until well combined.

Beat the chocolate mixture into the sugar almond mixture.

Butter a nine-inch cake pan, line it with parchment and butter the parchment as well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until the edges are crisp like a brownie, but the center of the cake is soft without being gooey. You can check this by dipping a knife into the center at the 20-minute mark.

Set the cake aside to cool. 

In a small bowl, place the powdered sugar, pressing out any lumps with a fork. Gradually stir in the pomegranate Juice until the icing is the consistency you like. I added about 5 teaspoons.

Once the cake is cool, remove it to the cake plate. Spread the lovely pink icing over the top, and decorate with pomegranate seeds. We served it with chocolate malt ball ice cream, but honestly, that was gilding the lily. Serving this cake would be such a treat for your Valentine!

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including USA Today bestselling A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. 

You can order that wherever books are sold. If you’re all caught up, try Lucy’s first women’s fiction title, THE INGREDIENTS OF HAPPINESS.

If you are in need of a special foodie gift, Lucy Burdette's Kitchen is now out in large print hardcover!

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